ABSTRACT
One of the basic dilemmas that has accompanied psychoanalytic theory from its very origin is that of the relative influence of internal versus external factors on the development of the personality. Undoubtedly, this issue is not dichotomous, and what is at issue is not a question of either/or. Recently, Mitchell (1988b) distinguished between four distinct aspects, or versions, of this issue.1 Without going into the details of Mitchell’s distinctions, I think that in many ways, and at many levels, the various different versions tend to boil down to their common denominator-internal versus external-and that it is fruitful to look at the concepts of mental objects as they relate to this issue.
